


Gem School: Gem Glow

by ayellowbirds



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 21:34:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5021302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayellowbirds/pseuds/ayellowbirds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steven's late for his new job. Um, what is his job, again?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gem School: Gem Glow

**Author's Note:**

> A short work inspired by Hilary Florido's promotional art at http://hilaryflorido.tumblr.com/  
> Might do more of this, might not....

Steven’s legs swung limp over the edge of the chair, too short by half to reach the floor. He was not having an ideal day: first, the news that his favorite frozen dessert was being discontinued, and now he was stuck waiting in an empty foyer, after having arrived late. Through the door to the office beyond, he could hear frustrated muttering and the occasional minced oath that was almost a swear, steadily building to the sound of stomping, furniture being pushed around, and objects falling to the floor. As the noises built, he swallowed a nervous gulp, and looked across the room at the two teens seated against the opposite wall.

The boy with the stretched earlobes was too lost in whatever music was coming from his earbuds to notice, while the shorter blonde beside him looked even more nervous than Steven himself, her posture tight and tense.

“Uh, hi,” Steven mumbled, offering a half-hearted wave just before the office door swung open with a crash.

_Something_ scurried out, green and with too many legs. The two teens let out yelps and leapt to their feet, while Steven’s own shock only managed to lift his feet onto the seat. An inarticulate cry of rage followed the insect-like creature out the door, along with a three-hole puncher that flew through the air…

...completely missing, and exploding in a shower of tiny circles of paper as it collided with the door to the hall, knocking it ajar. The skittering monster escaped through the narrow opening, and Steven clutched his chest to keep his heart from leaping out.

“Are you _kidding_ me!?” groaned the flush-faced man who stood in the doorway. He stood there, panting, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow and slick back a thin tuft of hair that stood isolated atop his head. It sprung back quickly, and Steven was reminded of a rooster’s comb. The man turned to look at him, eyes narrowed in confusion. “Who are…?”

“Steven, Steven Universe,” he replied, sliding down the chair and dusting himself off. Some of the punched paper holes had settled on his jacket; he plucked another from his hair, and offered a handshake. “And you must be Principal Dewey!”

“Uh, yes, right,” replied the principal, smoothing down his own jacket and straightening his tie before returning the handshake, his expression softening into a halfhearted smile. “Call me Bill. I must say, you’re a lot younger than I was expecting—but an unusual student body demands unusual teachers, I suppose? But if the school board sent you here, I’m certain they’re confident in your ability to manage the unique issues facing our the more uncommon elements of our classrooms.”

Steven let out a nervous laugh, partly motivated by the fact that Bill was maintaining the handshake a bit too long. “What, uh, what do you mean by that?”

The older man’s face fell.

“You mean, they didn’t tell you?” he paused, dropping the handshake and raising the hand to his face, working it over his jaw and making a worried humming sound that gradually grew more confident. He slapped both hands down on Steven’s shoulders, his expression turned to a broad grin that somehow didn’t seem to reach the rest of his face. “Well, alright then! Let’s make it part of the _grand tour!_ Just follow me!”

Principal Dewey strode across the room, gingerly dancing over the larger piles of paper. Steven did his best to follow him, exiting to the hallway just as Bill stuck his head back through the door, addressing the two students.

“You two, uh,” he waggled his fingers at the floor, indicating the countless white dots and fragmented hole puncher. “Clean up this mess, I’ll forget all about _that whole incident_ , and you can get back to class.”

Steven overheard the girl agreeing indistinctly, and then more loudly: “Lars? Did you hear him? _Lars?_ ”

“Well, alright then!” crowed Bill, letting the door shut and turning to gesture grandly to the hallway. “This is, as you know, Beach City High School!”

Steven looked down the mostly empty hallway. The doors were all closed—it was just the beginning of first period, and classes were in session. There wasn’t much to see.

“It’s… nice?”

“Yes,” Dewey continued forward, making grand sweeps of his arms at nothing in particular. “As you can see, a fully functional, fully modern public academic institution dedicated to the development of the young minds of students of our fair Delmarvan community.”

Steven followed along as the principal continued, seemingly ignoring him in favor of the opportunity to make a speech.

“Our instructors are committed to the highest standards of professionalism and achievement, and it is for this reason that we have recently been selected for a special honor by the government. I’m sure you’re aware of the recent developments in extraterrestrial citizenship, of course,” he paused, looking over his shoulder for a moment at Steven.

“Uh, yeah,” Steven replied, his hand unconsciously drifting to clutch at his stomach. “Yes, sir.”

“In light of our exceptional reputation,” Bill continued, turning a corner in the hallway and walking down a flight of stairs, “and based on, err, geographic proximity to the center of recent events, this school has been chosen as the site for the education and integration of a body of students of extraterrestrial origin, with the hopes that by including them in a normal, healthy classroom environment, we can ensure that their life on Earth is as peaceful and productive as any ordinary human teens.”

Steven skipped down the steps behind him, almost hopping from one to another. Principal Dewey continued to lead the way, and now gestured to a classroom set with wide windows along the wall of the hallway, the base of the sill just low enough that Steven could see over it into the room inside.

“That— _this_ is where you come in, the reason the school board has assigned you here,” Bill indicated the group of students. Most of them were rather unremarkable teenagers, a mix of boys and girls of various backgrounds and displaying widely differing attitudes in their posture (or lack thereof). A few, however, were clearly out of the ordinary. They’d been in the news a lot lately, after their presence on Earth had been revealed to the public.

“You mean,” Steven spoke barely above a whisper, “I’m here to teach…”

“Yes,” replied Bill, laying a hand on Steven’s shoulder, the other in his pocket. “You’re here to teach the Gems.”

The principal stiffened suddenly, and withdrew the hand in his pocket, hurling something small and black. Steven turned his head just fast enough to see that it was a cell phone, aimed straight at another one of the green creatures. It let out an odd hiss, and ran out of sight, climbing up the wall of the stairwell.

“That, and watch out for the centipeetles,” Bill grumbled, moving to retrieve his phone from where it had struck wall instead of chitin. “Darn things seem to be everywhere.”

 


End file.
